Recommendations for Expanding Fieldwork

RATIONALE
Traditionally fieldwork has been an experience where a student spends six weeks to three months at one facility with a single supervisor, often at a hospital or primary health care setting. Many factors are influencing the way occupational therapy practice and clinical education are provided. These factors include an increasing demand for OT services in expanding practice arenas, manpower shortages, increasing numbers of students needing fieldwork placements, students with special needs, and a shrinking number of fieldwork placements. Occupational therapy's growth into broader practice arenas provides us with an opportunity to expand and improve the fieldwork education component to reflect current practice. This is an essential consideration in preparing students for entry-level practice.

CRITERIA
Fieldwork is a collaborative effort between students, clinicians and educators. Ideas for placement may originate with an academic program or with a practitioner. The following criteria may help indicate whether your practice would be appropriate as a fieldwork placement.

Your practice provides opportunities for a student to:

learn OT skills & concepts, either general or specialized

apply OT skills & concepts, learned in the academic setting

experience success as a result of their OT intervention

communicate with other individuals in a professional manner

You are interested in supervising students

You are willing to collaborate with an academic fieldwork coordinator to plan and implement a student placement

RESOURCES
Any of the following resources will be able to offer further assistance: